Nice post! Indeed comments are important. It makes it look that your blog is indeed being read. Most often, if one person leaves a comment, others follow like a cascading effect….

I am not entirely convinced that Obama’s agenda is really about moving America further towards totalitarism. ( I will explain below )
But I appreciate your analysis and I am very convinced that we have to be *very* attentive and alert about what he does.

First let me list some moves towards totalitarism in America in the past 100 years.

1. FDRs New Deal

2. McCarthy’s crackdown on Communists.

Now I guess I have to explain why this is a move towards totalitarism:

In a free society, even communists have the right to free speech and the right to their own opinion.

Any move by government to remove these rights for anybody is a move towards totalitarism.

Plus, BTW, it is utterly stupid trying to fight communism by fighting communists.

You fight communism as follows:

a) educate communists and other people

b) show compassion towards poor people and help them get out of poorness.

Especially, Point b) is very important.
If private compassionate initiative is not sufficient to solve the homeless problem or other severe problems of poor people, then it is very easy to justify that government has to enter the charity business at least in a subsidiary role to the lack of private compassion.

If private compassionate initiative solves the homeless problem and other severe problems of poor people, then the following happens:

a) No excuses for government to enter the charity business.

b) This also means: no excuses for excessive taxes ( where about 30% of those taxes is used for government charity and the other 70% is used to funnel money to a few close friends of the political caste. )

c) we all know that private initiative is *much* more effective than government action. So, problems of poor people will be solved faster and with smaller amounts of money needed.

3. George W. Bush’s reactions to the terrorist attacks on the WTC on 9/11, such as:

a) increased government surveillance of the general population

b) Guantanamo prison: located outside of US-territory to avoid violating both the US-constitution.

c) crackdown on free journalism by allowing prolonged arrests of journalists (and other people) by the police.

4. The reactions of both George W. Bush and Obama to the economic crisis.

Now the economic crisis also needs some explanation.

As I see it from an outside of US perspective, the whole thing started to get severe due to some level of incompetence of banks with both
real estate and free market economics.

The whole thing was triggered by high oil prizes.

High oil prizes cause inflation, at least at the statistical level employed by the FED.

In a fiat money system, you fight inflation by increasing interest rates.

High interest rates cause the problem that people who shouldn’t have gotten loans at first place, cannot afford those loans anymore.

This means lots of real estate foreclosures.

And that’s where the incompetence of the banks start:

a) They don’t seem to know that trying to sell lots of foreclosure real estate at the same time drives real estate prices down.
( simple law of supply and demand )

b) They don’t seem to know that lower real estate prices turn good loans into bad loans, simply because the price of the real estate
drops below the value of the loan.

c) And they don’t seem to know the obvious solution due to incompetence in real estate.
They don’t seem to know that real estate has two markets: the buyer/seller market and the rental market.
So there is a way to avoid selling if selling causes harm.

So, if they would have known about points a) to c), then they all would do the following things:

a) Only sell foreclosed real estate if there are buyers who pay full, non-deflated prices.

b) Otherwise rent out the real estate. At market prices, which guarantees that every piece of real estate is in use.
The obvious rental-customer for a foreclosed piece of real estate is the former owner.

This would have maintained real estate prices and would have avoided bad debt and would have avoided a deflation of real estate prices.

But what happens instead due to incompetence:

a) Banks stubbornly try to sell foreclosed real estate, even when there are no buyers.

b) This leads to sharp deflation of real estate prices.

c) This leads to people living in tent cities while real estate which cannot be sold is empty without people living in there.

d) This empty real estate has to be guarded by security forces against illegal usage by homeless people.

e) This empty real estate has to be maintained in order to keep its current condition.

So, banks currently own real estate which is a liability for them instead of turning it into an asset by renting it out!

Plus, it *very* easy to sell socialism to those homeless people in the tent cities.
They are very easily convinced that free market economics do not work.
While in reality, free market economics works very well, but the banks don’t apply it!

***

What we do in Europe to avoid totalitarism:

1. We know that totalitarism is primarily caused by a sufficient number of desperate people in the population.
The higher that number, the better the copywriting formula of GAVEC+change+hope works.

There is *always* a seemingly unlimited supply of politicians who know how to use the copywriting formula of GAVEC+change+hope, so the number of desperate people remains as the single most important cause of totalitarism.

2. Therefore, in Europe, the number one political priority is to make sure that the economy works well. This is achieved by a free market economy and economic growth.

Therefore, in the current crisis, we apply some limited ( keyword limited ) amount of bail outs and stimulus packages, but with carefully looking at the deficit at the same time. ( We know that too much of a stimulus and bail out will just cause oscillations in the economic system and therefore create more problems than solving them.)

3. We admit that currently, people are not sufficiently compassionate to sufficiently help poor people, so they stop being extremely desperate. This lack of compassion is sad but a fact. Not useful to delude ourselves.

Therefore we apply some limited ( keyword limited ) amount of measures which look socialistic.

(disclaimer: it is my private view of the European system. I am not an official representative of Europe.)

***

Now back to Obama:
1. He uses the copywriting formula of GAVEC+change+hope in his marketing. Hitler also used that formula. Lots of other politicians used that formula. Some of them have an extreme totalitarian agenda, some don’t.

2. His handling of the economic crisis looks a bit like he is inexperienced and overreacting and surprised by adverse affects of his own prior actions which he tries to correct by even more action. This does not necessarily mean that he moves towards totalitarism. This can be plain and simple incompetence or lack of experience. But he may be able to learn and improve.

3. He may try to compensate the incompetence of some US-banks. Therefore I’d not be surprised if he forces banks and other real estate owners to rent out unused real estate and/or impose a tax on unused real estate. This will not be the ideal solution but the sad truth is that private incompetence always opens the door for government action.

4. He may try to move the US towards the European model. This may actually be a move to avoid totalitarism in the US.
But, like his handling of the economic crisis, he may do it in a clumsy and inexperienced way at the start. But he may be able to learn and improve.

5. With closing the Guantanamo prison, he actually removes a totalitarian aspect of the US. This can be an indication of his real, anti-totalitarian agenda or it can be a cover-up of his totalitarian agenda. It is hard to tell.

6. With wanting to remove nukes, he actually removes a totalitarian aspect of the US.

7. He is so slick that you don’t know his real agenda.

8. It is extremely difficult to differentiate between incompetence and an evil, totalitarian agenda.

So, we have to be *very* alert but it is not yet clear where he’s moving.
(being alert with respect to politicians is *always* a good idea BTW.)

I have to correct you about your information about the Nazis.

1. The Nazis came into power because they have been voted into power. Their organizations like Gestapo, SA or SS were not needed to come into power, but were needed to maintain power after people started to *get it*.

2. At the time where Nazis came into power, there was a severe economic crisis. People were very poor and probably literally starving. Plus lots of on unemployment.

People had the “mentality” to be entitled to food and survival.
( Instead of “mentality” I’d rather say they were very desperate. )

3. They did not send Moochers to the concentration camps. They sent Jews and people from other ethnically/rassistically defined groups to those camps plus they sent members of the political opposition to those camps.

The Nazis sold the hatred towards Jews to the population with various lies, not limited to but including the lie, that Jews were the *rich* who were responsible for the poorness of the people.

I know all this because I learned about history.

In school.

Here in Europe, where I live, we are very sensitive towards any forms of totalitarism and especially we take it very seriously to teach everybody about how the Nazi terror came into existence.

After all, Hitler was born in a town about one hour driving distance from where I live.

We have a historic responsibility here to keep the memory intact on how it all happened.

Please learn about history.

It is worth it.

You will see repetition patterns.

Chris

P.S. In Germany and Austria there are also many places which are suitable to establish sanctuaries.
Those were the favorite places where the Nazis established there command and control centers and infrastructure.

You ended your article with these words of encouragement “I wouldn’t want to say anything that might spoil your otherwise blissful day.” Before I read your article, I indulged in a reading of Bill Bonner’s “The Daily Reckoning.” He also has many words of encouragement. I guess I’m going to have to meditate for at least an hour so I can withstand all the bliss you and Bonner are blessing us with.

We can criticize the masses for their apathy and ignorance of economics. We can also show some compassion towards them. Very few people are capable of overcoming the vast amount of propaganda the establishment has spoon-fed them. Following is my take on it.

Look at all the people around you, individuals with their hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, they have their fears and sorrows, the disappointments that can pollute the quality of life. Despite this they move forward doing the best they can.

Do the grand schemes of *world-improvers, schemes that totally disregard the feelings of the individual matter? Does the megalomaniac who conceives a world molded after his delusions actually help anybody except other power seeking delusionals?

Now look at the history of mankind. Did any of the social systems conceived by world-improvers benefit the lone individual? Did the systems of militarism, feudalism, divine rights of kings, communism, socialism, fascism, Nazism, or our current system of interventionism help anyone except those in power?
The lone individual paid for all these disastrous schemes with his life, liberty and property. His only “reward” was pain and sorrow.

In conclusion, we can definitely state that Obama thinks of himself as a “World Improver.” Whether he is a megalomaniac or not is still open to question.

Robert A. Meyer
http://www.libertarianway.com

First and foremost, America is far bigger than Germany with a greater population, thus making any kind of real control over the people difficult. And as Ayn Rand showed us in Atlas Shrugged, there are quite a few places people can establish sanctuaries.

Also, there’s the entitlement mentality that got the politicians where they are today. I don’t believe such a thing existed in Germany, before or after Hitler’s takeover (in fact, I think they sent moochers to the concentration camps). That mentality is going to soon become a problem for the politicians when they run out of people to leech off of and have to start clamping down on things.

Furthermore, most people who want government interference want it because it benefits them. I’m convinced that once that benefit disappears, as it will, even the staunchest supporters of Big Brother will begin to protest.

Most importantly, one of the key things that enabled Hitler to come to power was, in my opinion, his goons squads and secret police. Forgive me for taking something on faith, but I cannot see the US military stooping to being on the level of the SA and SS; in fact, I’m convinced they would resist any attempt to make them into such an organization, if not out of the fact it’s illegal (Posse Comitatus Act), than out of pride and an attachment to their home country (even the Soviet and Nazi Germany Armies, from what I’ve read, looked upon the internal police role with disdain).

Finally, I’m sure you followed the news stories of gun sales going through the roof in the weeks leading up to Obama’s election, as well as continuing to go up afterwards. If I recall correctly, gun control was already in heavy use before Hitler came to power; such is not the case in the US, especially in the south. And a fellow firefighter on my volunteer department spoke with me about a study the US military did if they tried to go up against all gun owners in the US; needless to say, the results weren’t in the military’s favor.

While I’m taking your warning very seriously, I’m fairly confident that if any dictatorship were to come, it would be temporary at best. I think the US splitting up is a more probable outcome, and frankly, more than fine by me.